Quote:Well actually everything I stated about the Japanese part of my post is basically a quote/paraphrase of what my Japanese friends say. At my school I work with the Japanese club and many of them are students from Japan and they say that when I ask them to compare other places with Japan. They actually complain about that aspect of their culture,

Its funny if you think about it, but if someone who didn't know alot about America moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and talked to a certain segment of the population there they might 'know' how Americans feel about this or that, but if they landed in Lubbock, Texas and spoke to a certain segment of the population there, they might 'know' something quite different about how people feel about the country. Just sayin'

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But I've lived in LA, New York, and Arizona, and even based on seeing the many Japanese students who just moved from Japan, they seem to "relax" after living here for just a few years, and then they say that about their society. I am planning to go to Japan within the next few years since my grandpa lives there and all (long story, WWII) so I will see for myself, but even from comparing Korea to Japan, my dad says Japan "feels like wearing a necktie that's 1" too short"

Boldness and humility are not opposites. As far .......(reference to SG post edited by harlan...sorry oldman).. You might consider researching to find a culture that values stupidity. If your search is fruitful, consider moving there.

Well, good, because you might be better served by witholding that kind of judgment until you have some significant first-hand experience to base it upon.

What might be more interesting to discuss here (and less likely to result in unfortunate stereotyping) is how everyone feels and acts differently when living outside their native cultural context.

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Quote: A dicey topic, with some less than responsible responses. My initial trigger finger was to delete...but I need time to think about editing. Will return.

Is that why it seemed to have vanished a few hours ago?

I was confused (not a difficult state for me to achieve...)

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Well, good, because you might be better served by witholding that kind of judgment until you have some significant first-hand experience to base it upon.

What might be more interesting to discuss here (and less likely to result in unfortunate stereotyping) is how everyone feels and acts differently when living outside their native cultural context.

I didn't judge these cultures and I wasn't stereotyping, I was reporting what my Japanese friends told me. They are having big musical movements on this for the past few years in Japan too, if you are into the J-music scene.

As far as how people feel and act outside their native context, they were here for college, and moved back to Japan. They report they feel a new perspective in life (similar to how some Americans feel when studying abroad for a term). They said they will keep some terms of traditional politeness, but at their core will not have a mask any more. If that's how they feel, more power to them